Archive of Our Own

Apple

Taeyong blows his bangs off of his line of sight for the sixth time in the past hour, annoyed at how it distracts him from finishing the design he’s painting on his new Louis Vuitton. His paint sprays just arrived this morning and he’s dropped everything he had planned to do for the day, knowing he’d just keep thinking of what he could do to the thousand dollar bag he’d gotten a week ago with the paint he purchased online just hours after.

Strands of his hair block his eyes again, and since Taeyong’s hands are messy with paint (and, he’s too lazy to get up, wash his hands clean and fix his hair so it wouldn’t be a bother anymore), he sighs, planning to give it a good huff once again when a pair of familiar smooth hands grab Taeyong’s source of distraction and tie them into a neat bun using a pink scrunchie he remembers they’ve won on an arcade a couple of months back.

“Better?” Jaehyun asks, doing some final touches on the masterpiece he’s done on Taeyong’s hair. “You look cute.”

“I’m always cute.” He gives Jaehyun a kiss on the cheek when the other wraps his arms around Taeyong and hugs him from behind, settling his chin on Taeyong’s shoulder. “When did you learn this?”

“You taught me this.”

“I mean, I always tied yours up into an apple hair, but I didn’t think you’d learn how.”

“Hey!” Jaehyun protests. “I learn very quickly.”

Taeyong sets his blue paint down and turns to face Jaehyun, giggling at his boyfriend’s adorable whining. “Thank you, Jae.” He presses a kiss on Jaehyun’s lips and beams at him.

“More, Yong.” Jaehyun tries to get more kisses but is met with Taeyong turning his back on him again to continue what he’s doing.

“Three more? Two? Okay, one last kiss, Yong.”

Bread

“Hi, baby.” Jaehyun moves the plastic on his right hand to his left so he’d hold his phone better while he’s on call. “You’re awake now?”

“Jaehyunnie, where are you?” Taeyong whimpers on the other line, feeling betrayed by the fact that Jaehyun’s not beside him at eight in the morning when he’s supposed to be cuddling Taeyong back to sleep.

“I bought bread, the chocolate buns you like? I found out they’re served warm this time of the day.” He lifts the plastic bags up to his face, taking a whiff of the freshly baked bread inside of them. “They smell heavenly.”

“I don’t want bread, I want Jaehyun.” Jaehyun can almost hear Taeyong pouting from the tone of his voice. He scans his immediate environment and realizes he’s two blocks away from home.

There’s a shuffling on the background and Jaehyun knows Taeyong’s already awake, probably sitting up, resting against the headboard and hugging the pillows Jaehyun uses.

“Jaehyuuuun,” Taeyong whines again and Jaehyun just finds it so fucking adorable he laughs alone while walking down the street. “what’s taking you so long?”

“I’m here, babe. Come out of the bedroom?” He responds, securing his phone in between his ear and his shoulder as he takes his apartment key from his pocket.

“Carry me out.”

Jaehyun decides he’ll be giving Taeyong hundreds of small kisses on his face because he knows Taeyong gets annoyed whenever he does that (although, he also knows Taeyong secretly loves Jaehyun a little bit more when he showers him with them.)

“Extra clingy today, huh? I’ll handle that.” The elevator dings and Jaehyun hops on, pressing 11. “See you in a minute, love.”

Camouflage

“Okay, Jaehyun, I’m going to drive towards the crate and you take everything inside as quickly as you can.”

“I got it—hey, can I not get the suit?”

“Get everything, Jaehyunnie. Everything is useful.”

Jaehyun sees their car pull up just beside a crate and Jaehyun hops down to retrieve the special items in it. He pauses for a moment, debating with himself whether he’d get the camouflage suit or not when Taeyong pinches him in the leg.

“What are you doing? We’re gonna get shot!”

The camouflage suit is now worn by Jaehyun’s character and he feels awfully annoyed by it, thinking of how he looks stupid in the game. The play zone is getting smaller and they’re trapped in a vast grassland with no near houses on sight.

“Guess we’ll just stop here.” Taeyong stops the vehicle he’s driving and they both get out of the car, looking out for enemies from all directions.

Jaehyun hears the first shot, but he can’t figure out where it’s coming from.

“Shit, Jae! 325! Coordinate 325! Ugh!” Taeyong groans beside him and puts his phone down, his character finished in three long-ranged shots. He scurries over to Jaehyun, watching him play.

“Okay, Jae. You have 3 enemies left, one’s likely a pair still alive but once you get one down, don’t kill him, he’ll just die eventually. Find the other two immediately okay—why aren’t you in prone?”

“I can’t aim well in prone, babe.”

“Your camouflage suit isn’t doing its job, Jae. You use it so you can move around without getting noticed easily. You’re in grassland, it’s easier to hide.”

“I told you, I can’t aim well—shit!” Two shots are fired at Jaehyun from the left and they both panic.

“Prone! Prone! Go prone!” Taeyong shouts at Jaehyun, adrenaline probably rushing him so they could still win the game. “Jaehyun, for fuck’s sake use your suit!”

“I’ll shoot them first, babe, just—stop jumping I can’t focus—” Jaehyun’s character gets shot one last time before the game ends. They both sigh in defeat and sit in silence, victory slipping away in a split second.

It’s Taeyong who moves first, scooting closer to Jaehyun again as he props his chin on Jaehyun’s right shoulder, planting a kiss on Jaehyun’s jaw and trails his lips to Jaehyun’s own. Taeyong leaves one last kiss before booping his nose with Jaehyun’s and says, “One last game?”

“I’ll drive, you get the supplies.”

Dear

“'Jagi?’ No?” Jaehyun thinks for a minute before suggesting another to Taeyong.

“’ Honeybunch’?”

“Honeybunch—what the fuck, Jae?”

He takes the pillow between Taeyong and him and hugs it as he puts his head on the latter’s lap, with Taeyong’s hands almost automatically landing on Jaehyun’s head, combing Jaehyun’s hair with his fingers. “How about ‘sweetie’?”

Jaehyun shakes his head in disagreement. “Yuta used to call his ex that. When they broke up, he had that word banned.”

They think for more pet names—a rather permanent one they’d call each other just because they think it’s cute. Not because they heard Mark slip that one time, calling Donghyuck ‘cupcake’ and coercing the other half of the two to confess what he calls Mark.

(The moment they found out Donghyuck called Mark ‘muffin’, both Jaehyun and Taeyong just lost it.)

It’s not that they’re jealous, per se; in fact, they even found it too cheesy and rather appalling the first few days after they hung out with the young ones, but then again it just sounded right. They both were too hesitant to bring it up and say “Hey, muffin and cupcake sounded awfully weird yet right? Why don’t we have our own pet names for each other?”

Their brainstorming started when Jaehyun just tried to call Taeyong something other than the usual Yong or Taeyongie.

He called him buttercup.

And, of course, Taeyong’s first reaction was, “What am I, a Powerpuff girl?”

 Now they’re just lazily hanging out on the couch, thinking of something, something else other than the generic baby, babe, or love. Something that fits their dynamic.

“Dear?” Jaehyun suggests once again and the moment it slips out of his tongue, he regrets it immediately.

“Dear?” Taeyong asks incredulously. “Dear? What are we, a couple that’s been married for over 20 years already?”

“In the future, we will be.” Jaehyun comments, earning a pinch in his nose. “That hurt, babe. Cut your nails, please.”

They both notice it, how the endearment just naturally slips out of Jaehyun. It’s been like that for years now, anyway. They both don’t know why they’ve been so caught up on thinking of something more permanent, something that sounds right when all along they’ve called each other hundreds of nicknames, each and every single one sounding just right because hey, there’s no one else they’d rather call these cheesy, over-the-top pet names other than each other.

“Why are we even doing this, baby?” Taeyong says, fingers slipping into Jaehyun’s easily.

“I don’t know, love,” Jaehyun answers, and with that, a silent agreement to stop overthinking, stop worrying about calling one another a really rather cute pair of pet names like muffin and cupcake (honestly, this is Mark and Donghyuck’s fault) because it doesn’t fit them. They’re rather fit for the I-can-call-you-anything-I-want dynamic, even if it reaches a point where they’d call each other stupid.

They’re Jaehyun and Taeyong, they can make anything sound sweet.

“Okay, how about this instead.” Taeyong looks Jaehyun directly in the eye, searching for something, something that can give him a tiny boost of confidence because whatever he’s gonna say is a bit of a reach in just the third year of their relationship.

He finds it, of course, in the way Jaehyun’s eyes crinkle when he smiles at Taeyong, urging him to say whatever he wants, whatever’s on his mind.

“When we reach our 50s, or 60s, whatever, and we’ve been married for like 20 years or something, we’ll stick with dear, okay?”

Jaehyun finds it hilarious how Taeyong’s still thinking about this but his heart feels this sudden warmth just thinking about spending his whole life with Taeyong. At the very back of his mind, his brain conjures an image of the two of them sitting by the fireplace at their own home, warming themselves with blankets and a cup of cocoa on a winter day.

He likes it.

“Alright.” He pulls Taeyong’s hand that’s intertwined with his closer to his lips and leaves a kiss on Taeyong’s knuckles.

“I’ll call you dear in thirty years.”

Eyelash

“Stay still.” Taeyong reaches for Jaehyun’s face slowly, breathing at steady, hoping that the eyelash in Jaehyun’s cheek won’t be blown away. He uses his thumb and presses it against the area where the lash is and puts it at the back of his hand slowly, careful not to do anything that might make it go away.

“What are you doing?” Jaehyun looks over Taeyong’s shoulder and sees an eyelash on Taeyong’s hand. “Is that mine?”

“Yes, now go away, I’m making a wish and you’re breathing too much.”

“I’m breathing—what?” Jaehyun has heard of this folklore, maybe saw it on the internet but he’s never seen anybody in his life do it. “Do you seriously think an eyelash will help you make your wish come true?”

Taeyong rolls his eyes, of course, his boyfriend doesn’t believe in this. “It’s your eyelash. If my wish doesn’t come true, then it’s on you.” He continues to ignore Jaehyun and closes his eyes, silently wishing for one thing.

I want to grow old with Jaehyun.

Then, he blows on the back of his hand, hoping the eyelash has disappeared.

“What did you wish for?” Jaehyun asks, voice teasing.

“Is it gone?” Taeyong doesn’t want to open his eyes, scared the eyelash might still be there, slimming the chances of his wish to come true.

“Babe, open your eyes.”

“No. Just tell me.”

“Love, it’s gone.” Taeyong’s eyes fly open, examining his hand almost immediately for any trace of eyelash on it. Nothing. It’s been blown away. He blew it away.

His wish just really might come true.

“What did you wish for?”

“Nothing.”

“Is it about me?”

Taeyong blushes. “I wished for ice cream.”

“You totally wished about me! You are so in love with me.”

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll make it happen. So, what is it?”

Taeyong pushes himself away from the bed, standing up to get away from Jaehyun. “If I tell you it won’t come true.”

“You believe in an eyelash’s power more than mine? Wow, I feel the love, baby.”

“It’s your eyelash.”

“Hm, well, that makes sense. Okay, fine. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll happen. It’s mine anyway. Whatever you wished for, every bit, every part of Jeong Jaehyun will make it happen.”

Now, Taeyong’s more sure his wish will be granted.

Fate

Jaehyun plops down the couch beside Taeyong who has a box of tissues on the side table, ready to drown in tears with the movie he’s watching again.

“The Notebook? You watched this last month—”

“Shh, I don’t say anything when you marathon the Before trilogy now do I?” Jaehyun shuts up at that and chooses to just enjoy the rest of the film.

It doesn’t take much for Taeyong to find himself all wrapped up again in Jaehyun’s hold, sobbing on the latter’s chest because of the ending scene where Noah visits Allie for the last time before they die together in their sleep. Jaehyun rubs Taeyong’s back, attempting to placate his sobbing boyfriend’s emotions (also, again, to no one’s surprise, cooing at how baby Taeyong looks when he seeks for comfort in Jaehyun’s embrace.)

“I just think it’s amazing how they found each other again and again, you know, despite everything.” Taeyong blurts out of nowhere, still tightly holding on to Jaehyun. “Fate is amazing. Putting two people that are destined for each other.”

“You know, I don’t believe in fate.”

Jaehyun feels Taeyong stiffen.

“Then you don’t think we’re meant for each other?” Taeyong’s voice comes out a bit shaky; he knows Jaehyun loves him, it’s even hilarious if one even thinks Jaehyun loves Taeyong less than he does because there is no amount that can ever suffice how much Jaehyun loves him but, in these moments, he just wishes Jaehyun would try to just sympathize with his crying, over-emotional boyfriend who just wailed his heart out because of a sad yet beautiful movie.

It takes Jaehyun a bit longer to answer, but Taeyong swears Jaehyun just made him cry more than the movie ever did.

“Well, that’s the thing. I don’t believe in that bullshit but now that I have you, I don’t think I could explain how I ended up with you aside from some sort of miracle happening in my life or fate granting me with eternal happiness in the form of you.”

He hits Jaehyun’s chest with his fist, frustrated at how he could make him cry in two fucking sentences. Taeyong’s heart is beating erratically, just as it always does whenever Jaehyun says something sappy like this.

He loves it.

“Hey—aw—Yong, wait—aw—why are you hitting me?” Jaehyun gets ahold of Taeyong’s wrist and Taeyong tries to squirm away, wanting to hit Jaehyun more to hide his flustered face.

“I love you, Taeyong—ouch! I was being sweet! Why are you so violent?”

“You don’t make the ones you love cry!”

“You cried out of happiness, I just know—aw!”

Gum

Nam Wooseok offers the stick of gum on his hand to a busy Jaehyun writing the prescribed medicine for the cute little Yorkie on the hospital bed.

“Want some gum, doc?”

Taeyong literally rolls his eyes from outside, seeing the interaction from the seat in front of Jaehyun’s secretary, Jiwoo.

“He does that every time Kiyo gets a check-up, hyung.” Jiwoo adds a little more fuel to the fire, only because it’s really entertaining to see Taeyong getting all worked up and jealous.

“Jaehyun doesn’t like gum. See? He refused.” He points at Jaehyun who’s declining the candy offered to him by his patient’s owner.

“Want some gum doc?” Taeyong mocks Nam Wooseok’s voice before rolling his eyes for the nth time that morning. “It’s so fucking obvious he’s flirting!”

“Or maybe he just has a lot of gum?”

“Park Jiwoo, whose side are you on?”

Jiwoo shuts up at that, only offering Taeyong a chuckle as he decides to stop teasing his boss’s boyfriend before things get really serious.

Taeyong watches both Jaehyun and Nam Wooseok get up from their seats, Jaehyun walking ahead to open the door for his little patient and its owner. Kiyo, who’s in Nam Wooseok’s arm, barks at Jaehyun as if saying his gratitude.

“Now, Kiyo, don’t play outside when it's raining okay? You’ll get sick again. Your dad here worries a lot.”

“Thanks a lot, doc.” Nam Wooseok again smiles brightly at Jaehyun so annoyingly Taeyong wants to wipe his mouth off his face.

Jaehyun only nods at Nam Wooseok in response and turns his attention to Taeyong, whom he sees sulking by his secretary’s desk. He knows what’s up and Jaehyun secretly likes it.

“Jiwoo? What time’s my next appointment?”

“In thirty minutes, doc. But Mrs. Yu usually arrives ten minutes early.”

“Alright.” Nam Wooseok’s still inside Jaehyun’s clinic and Taeyong just wants him to get out of there so he can whine at Jaehyun about how a pet owner keeps trying to win him over through a stick of gum.

“Love?” Jaehyun calls for him with an endearment for the first time in front of Nam Wooseok, and Taeyong can see from his peripheral vision that the annoying gum lover is taken aback by the fact that Jaehyun indeed has a boyfriend.

“Love? Hey, Yong.” He looks at Jaehyun and the latter’s winking at him, gesturing for him to go inside.

Taeyong doesn’t know why he did it, but as soon as he stood up and walked towards Jaehyun, he literally stopped in front of his boyfriend and said with a volume loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. “You look really hot in your coat, have I told you that?”

It was Jiwoo’s laughter that snapped Taeyong out of whatever fucking trance he was in walking towards Jaehyun. Flustered and unable to face anyone, he went inside Jaehyun’s office and sat at the swivel chair Jaehyun’s usually sitting on whenever he talks to the patient’s owners and turns it around 180 degrees, back facing the glass door. He hears Jaehyun shut the blinds off for privacy before making his way to Taeyong, probably with a smug grin on his face.

Jaehyun rotates the chair so Taeyong would face him and bends down a bit, leveling his face with his jealous boyfriend.

“I knew it, you were jealous of him.”

“I-I’m not.” Taeyong doesn’t look Jaehyun in the eye.

“When Jiwoo told me to refrain from taking the gums he kept offering me, I knew something was up.”

Taeyong scoffs. “Is that his way of flirting with you? Offer you a piece of gum every time he sees you?”

“It’s cute.”

“Jaehyun!” Jaehyun is met with a glare from his seemingly tiny boyfriend.

“Bring me gum next time, too.”

“You don’t even like gum!”

Hero

“Hey, babe, who’s your favorite hero?” Jaehyun asks out of the blue on a cold spring night, while scrolling through his Twitter timeline. Well, not out of the blue, because he just answered a poll that asked the same question, only that it had only four choices to choose from: Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America, or Black Panther.

(He doesn’t get why those four were grouped together in the choices, but he chooses Black Panther anyway.)

“Huh? Sorry, didn’t hear you.” While Taeyong is busy with his adventure in Mario Odyssey. It’s a rather normal night, really.

“Your favorite hero.”

“Oh, you.”

Silence envelops their shared apartment.

“L-love—” Jaehyun clears his throat, pretending he wasn’t just flustered by Taeyong’s answer. “—I meant superhero. You know, one that saves lives.”

Taeyong looks up from his game for a second to look Jaehyun in the eyes and says, “You.”

Jaehyun finally chokes; he doesn’t really know is Taeyong’s being serious so he asks, doubtful that Taeyong’s going to give him a proper explanation because he’s really engrossed with his game.

“Well, by definition of what a hero means, it’s someone you really admire, right? Well, I admire you for everything you’ve achieved. You’ve worked hard to be where you are right now, despite everything that has happened to you while you were studying, your parents’ divorce, you getting into that disciplinary case because you fought for what was right, and babe, you save animals’ lives for fuck’s sake, how can I not admire you so much?” Taeyong answers with a straight fucking face while he continues kicking the butts off the villains in Mario’s game.

“And, if you want to argue the whole superhero thing where my answer should be someone who could save my life when I’m in danger or something, isn’t that you, Jae? When the world is in ruins and these heroes really do exist, I’d rather entrust my whole life to you because I know you’d do everything to save me. Well, I’d choose to die instead of living in a new world where you’re not in it, but you get the point.”

Jaehyun just sits there, unmoving and in pure disbelief of whatever he just heard.

“But if you still want to push the question, then Iron Man sounds cool.”

“No!” He literally dives to where Taeyong is and holds him close, so close Taeyong feels like it’s a breach of personal space (well, it’s not, he just likes being dramatic when he’s playing and Jaehyun hugs him like this). “I’m your hero! You said it already! No backsies!”

“I wasn’t going to take it back you dummy—hey! Stop kissing my neck—you were the one who kept pushing for another answer when I already gave one the first time you asked—Jaehyun! I’ll rescind my answer if you don’t stop kissing me—Jaehyun! My game! If I lose my lives here you are in so much trouble!”

Ice

“Jaehyun, can you please be more gentle?”

“I’m as gentle as I can be, love. Now, hold still.”

“Ah—ah, ah! That fucking hurts! Jaehyun!” Taeyong gives Jaehyun’s shoulder a hard smack when Jaehyun presses the clothed ice cubes down too hard on his bruise.

“I told you! Stop doing lunges with the kitchen counter as a support, look at what happened to you.”

“Your boyfriend slipped and you’re still reprimanding him? Wow, so much for compassion and empathy—ah! Stop it!” He slaps Jaehyun’s hands away for pressing it too hard again, only to be met by Jaehyun’s glare.

“What would’ve happened if my last patient didn’t cancel his appointment? And I wouldn’t have gone home early? Who would find you screaming in pain on the kitchen floor, huh?”

“I would’ve called you…” Taeyong murmurs.

Jaehyun sets the clothed ice on the basin and rubs Taeyong’s bruise gently with his thumb. “I hate seeing you in pain, Yong. Please be careful, for me? Hm?”

He gets a pout as a response, but Jaehyun knows Taeyong had just made a silent promise with him that yes, he’s going to be more careful now, not doing anything remotely dangerous like doing some exercises by the kitchen where there’s so much space.

Sitting beside Taeyong to finally get some rest, he watches his boyfriend crouch down to the floor, grabbing an ice cube from the basin Jaehyun just used. He observes Taeyong, whose body’s sprawled out on his legs, holding the ice, playing it with his fingers.

He didn’t expect whatever Taeyong was planning next, though.

Jaehyun feels a shiver run-up to his spine when the frozen solid touches his calf, slowly trailing up to his thighs.

“Taeyong.” He tries to warn his mischievous boyfriend, but Taeyong acts like he can’t hear him, still tracing the cold cube to his inner thigh.

Jaehyun regrets taking his pants off the moment he entered their apartment.

“Is it cold, baby?” He hears Taeyong ask, voice audibly teasing him.

Fuck this, Jaehyun decides he’ll just be careful not to touch anywhere near Taeyong’s bruise and settles Taeyong on his lap swiftly, making Taeyong drop the ice on their couch.

“Hey—you’ll get the couch wet! Jaehyun! The ice will melt!”

Jaehyun bends down to get an ice cube and places it on his mouth. Taeyong knows what he’s planning.

“Okay. I’m sorry for teasing, I won’t do it again—Jae! Babe, I’m injured. Hey! Shit, that’s cold. Jaehyun!”

Jenga

It’s their eighth round of Jenga, and Jaehyun, as competitive as he is, has only won twice.

Taeyong looks proud of himself, upping the bets they keep placing for every round. He’s risked his Animal Crossing bells already, his movie night privilege, desserts, and dignity via pledging that he’d take pictures of himself with Jaehyun’s doodles on his face if he loses and yet has managed to keep them all intact, plus winning everything Jaehyun has put on the line in each round he has won.

“Whoever wins this round washes the dishes.” Taeyong declares, looking a bit more confident.

“No fair! You keep looking at me with those—those pretty eyes of yours whenever I’m playing!”

“It’s not my fault you get distracted, love.”

“We should establish rules for this, no staring at your opponent’s face, no distracting the other player when they’re up, deal?

Taeyong huffs in disapproval.

“Afraid you’ll lose, snookums?”

Jaehyun gets kicked in the leg for the endearment. “Prepare to wash the dishes tonight, Jeong.”

He gets his way this time—with Taeyong watching him quietly every turn he takes; no more staring at him with cute puppy eyes that distract him because Jaehyun keeps on thinking he just wants to kiss the life out of Taeyong.

Taeyong swiftly takes another block from the middle despite the whole tower getting a bit unstable and Jaehyun’s just a tiny bit nervous he’ll pull a wrong block out, making the Jenga tower fall off again.

Nope.

He doesn’t want to lose for the seventh time.

He finds a lose Jenga in the lower region, only it’s in the middle, so he pushes the block carefully with his pointer finger, mind thoroughly focused on keeping the balance so he wouldn’t lose. The block slides out halfway on the other side and Jaehyun only has to pull it out carefully when Taeyong, again, distracts him.

“I love you, baby.”

Jaehyun mistakenly pulls the Jenga block too fast it hits the other blocks nearby, causing the tower to fall. The only thing he hears after the blocks hit the table is Taeyong’s laugh resonating through the whole apartment.

Oh, how Jaehyun loves that sound.

“You cheated again!”

“I did not! I just told you I loved you! Aren’t you supposed to say “I love you too”?”

“Taeyong!”

Taeyong’s now running to their bedroom, reminding Jaehyun of what needs to be done because of his defeat.

“Make sure the kitchen is dry when you’re done washing, babe!”

Keychain

Jaehyun spots a quaint store in Hongdae as they stroll around, looking for a good café that serves the French toast Taeyong likes so much. They’re celebrating their second-year anniversary and these days, they aren’t given the privilege to go on dates outside because work has been keeping them busy.

He pulls Taeyong’s arm to get his attention and points at the shop on the other side of the street. Jaehyun knows how much Taeyong likes cute accessories and things he can place around the apartment to make it more colorful and livelier. “Want to see what they have, babe?”

Taeyong beams at him and drags Jaehyun, half-running towards the shop while crossing the street. “Hey, be careful.”

Of course, Taeyong pays him no mind.

They enter the store and Jaehyun is almost sure he can hear Taeyong’s eyes twinkling at the sight of so many cute novelty items displayed around. He lets go of Taeyong’s hand for the better; he knows Taeyong would want his two hands fully functional to grab a hold of everything he’ll buy.

Jaehyun only follows him around with a basket, lifting it up every time Taeyong decides to get something. There are things he approves of in Taeyong’s shopping basket, like this little music box that plays ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and two mugs that change colors every time someone fills them with hot beverage, and items that makes Jaehyun bite his lip so he’d stop himself from asking “Why would you need a pastel Rubik's cube, Yong?”

His attention gets caught by a red rose keychain inside a glass, like the one in Beauty and a Beast. It’s perfect, he thinks in a heartbeat—it reminds him of Taeyong. So delicate and beautiful yet undeniably important. Magical, is what he would say.

Just like his Taeyong, ever so enchanting no one can even compare.

He shakes himself off from another one of his “Taeyong moments” where he realizes how undeniably perfect Taeyong is he’s beginning to doubt whether he’s really human.

Jaehyun takes the keychain and holds on to it, planning to buy it separately because he’s sure Taeyong would want to pay for it too once he sees Jaehyun has picked something out himself.

He finishes paying first, of course, and heads out because the store’s getting more crowded by the minute and waits for Taeyong to come out. By the time Taeyong steps out of the store, Jaehyun sees him handing a small object to him.

A peach keychain.

“Look what I got you! Look! My peach. Jaehyunnie is my peach, right?”

Jaehyun doesn’t know why, but he really wants to cry right now.

“Baby, are those tears?” Taeyong’s voice is mixed with playfulness and genuine worry he’s broken his boyfriend in the middle of their date.

“N-no.” His voice is hoarse, a little dangerous if you ask Jaehyun because a little more push from Taeyong he’s really going to lose his composure and go all emotional right in the streets of Hongdae. He remembers his own purchase and gives it to Taeyong, who just laughs off Jaehyun’s attempt to distract him. Then, Jaehyun hears a gasp from the other.

“Oh my god, where did you find this? It’s beautiful.”

“Inside.” Jaehyun coughs a bit, trying to adjust his voice into its normal tone. “I found it and thought of you.”

Taeyong pulls him in for a kiss, not minding the passersby looking at them, and Jaehyun enjoys this rush of euphoria in his veins as he drowns in Taeyong’s lips.

I love you, he says in his mind, though he’s sure his telepathic powers that are connected to Taeyong sends the other a signal of his message.

I love you too.

Lunch

“Hey, doc, you want anything for lunch?” Jiwoo’s head pops by the door as Jaehyun’s just about to grab the lunch box Taeyong prepared for him before he left for work.

“I’m good, Jiwoo-yah. Enjoy your lunch. Oh, by the way, you’re free to extend your lunch break until two. Coco’s appointment is at 2:30, right?” Jiwoo slowly nods, rather confused with his boss granting him an extended lunch break when he didn’t even ask for it.

“Taeyong told me you’re eating with your boyfriend today, Dongmin, was it?”

A blush creeps on Jiwoo’s face, of course, he told his boyfriend who is his boss. Curse Lee Taeyong and his inability to keep anything from Jeong Jaehyun.

“Enjoy your lunch, Jiwoo!”

Jiwoo mumbles a shy thanks before closing Jaehyun’s door and leaving the clinic. Now, Jaehyun can finally eat his special lunch in peace while catching up with The Good Place because his boyfriend has watched a few episodes ahead of him while he was out one night.

He opens his lunch bag and finds a sticky note on the top container.

Hi Doctor Jeong!

Enjoy your lunch, alright? Finish them all up. I made them with an extra pinch of love.

Also, text me this code so I know you really ate your lunch during lunch hours because sometimes you’re really stubborn: 0214JH

See you at home, baby love <3

-T

Jaehyun almost chokes after reading the note. Why does he like Taeyong calling hin baby love so much?

He takes his phone and unlocks it, messaging Taeyong to assure him he’s eating.

To: ty jeong

0214JH

Also, baby love? Wow, you really know how to make my heart skip a beat, huh?

Eat your lunch, babe

I love you

ps im watching tgp3 now

From: ty jeong

good, you’re eating rn

I’ll be out for lunch in a few <3

ONLY UNTIL EPISODE 6 OKAY

See you at home, baby love ;3

Mother

“I’m meeting your mother, Jaehyun, stop—stop kissing me!”

“My mom knows I’m not innocent, babe.”

“Well, I sure as hell won’t show up in her house with lips that look like they’ve been ravished by a vampire!”

Taeyong pushes Jaehyun’s face away as the latter attempts to give him another “chaste” kiss to help calm his nerves down. Jaehyun pouts, already missing the feeling of Taeyong’s lips against his.

“They look sore, Jaehyun. Look at what you’ve done.”

“They look like a masterpiece, cutie pie.”

“What is with you and calling me pet names from out of the blue whenever you piss me off!”

Jaehyun just laughs at him and takes Taeyong’s hand in his. “Whatever are you so nervous about, my love?”

Okay, Taeyong likes that.

“You’ve talked to mom so many times before this, even before we were official. What’s wrong? Hm?” Jaehyun kisses the back of Taeyong’s hand and rubs his thumb against it, calming his nerves down.

“It’s different, okay. I mean, all those times, we’ve only talked via video chat, or messages, or voice calls. Now, she’s going to see me in flesh. What if I mess up in front of her? What if I have a mannerism that irks her? I want her to like me, Jaehyun. And I know you keep saying the only thing that matters is what we feel for each other, but I really, really want your mom to like me because she’s important to you.”

Right then and there, Jaehyun finds the answer to a question he’s never even thought of: Why Taeyong?

“Babe, I’m just constantly amazed by you, do you know that? I mean, clearly, my mom approves of you, it’s obvious whenever she looks for you first every time I call her, or whenever she sends a package and you always, always get your own portion with your name written on every chocolate in that box. You know she always scolds me whenever she finds out we have a little argument, right? She loves you because I love you, that’s what you think, right?”

Taeyong nods shyly at this, and Jaehyun places his hand on Taeyong’s chin, prompting him to look at him.

“She loves you because of who you are, baby. I’m pretty sure of that. You’ll see, hm? Just be yourself, alright?”

They finally get out of Jaehyun’s car and walk hand-in-hand to his mom’s house, Taeyong bringing a box of his favorite chocolate cake with him maybe to earn a little more brownie points. Jaehyun rings the doorbell twice before looking at Taeyong reassuringly: She loves you.

And, as Jaehyun expected, the moment his mother opens her door, the first thing to come out from her mouth is his nervous boyfriend’s name.

“Taeyong! I’m finally seeing you in the flesh!” Jaehyun lets go of Taeyong’s hand when his mother pulls Taeyong for a tight hug. He loves this sight more than anything: the two people he loves the most right in front of him sharing an adorable embrace.

Jaehyun swears a tear falls from his eyes.

His mom leads Taeyong inside, holding his hand as she chatters away. “I have so much to tell you, Taeyongie. You know, I brought out Jaehyun’s old photobook to show you his baby pictures—”

“Mom, doesn’t your only child get a hug?”

“—oh you can’t believe how cute he is! Oh, Taeyong-ah, you like steak, right? I made steak for dinner, I hope it’s to your liking.”

“Mom, I’m here too…”

Nightmare

Taeyong’s stuck.

He literally cannot move. And he wants to. He wants to move his legs, he wants to run, he wants to stop him.

Taeyong’s voiceless.

No matter how hard he screams his name nothing comes out. No matter how much he’s begging right now, pleading for Jaehyun not to leave him, he can’t. He physically isn’t able to.

Jaehyun, please. Don’t leave me, please. Stay. Is what he wishes to tell Jaehyun. Baby, please. Whatever’s wrong, we’ll fix it. We’ll fix it together, yeah? That’s what you promised me, Jaehyun you promised me you wouldn’t let go. Why are you leaving me?

He wants to run to Jaehyun and kneel in front of him, Taeyong thinks he’s got more chance to make Jaehyun stay if Jaehyun sees him pleading for him to not go. He wants to lock Jaehyun’s feet with his arms so Jaehyun won’t take another step away from him because as Jaehyun keeps taking one step further away from him, Taeyong’s heart begins to bleed.

He can’t lose Jaehyun.

Please don’t leave me. He begs. Tears already blurring his sight because he’s been crying too much but Jaehyun—Jaehyun just keeps taking steps away from him.

Jaehyun, don’t go.

Jaehyun.

“Jaehyun!” Taeyong finally hears his voice.

He scans his environment, taking him a good minute to realize he’s inside their bedroom. It’s two in the morning and there’s someone beside him.

Jaehyun didn’t leave him. It was a dream—a nightmare, at that. Taeyong’s worst nightmare.

“Love?” He hears Jaehyun shuffle from behind and it doesn’t take a second before arms find themselves wrapped around Taeyong’s waist, chin propped up on his shoulder. “I’m here. Taeyong, I’m right here.”

“Jaehyun—Jaehyun, you’re here.” Taeyong sounds desperate, he doesn’t like it. He hates it whenever he feels scared Jaehyun would leave him because he knows the truth; Jaehyun would never do that to him.

“Yes, baby, I’m here. I’m right here. I won’t leave.” He faces Jaehyun, making sure he never loses grip on the other’s skin, still afraid Jaehyun would slip away from him if he does. Taeyong feels his tears getting kissed away softly by his favorite pair of lips, trying to placate his emotions that are running wild in his head. “I’m here, Taeyong.”

“You’re here.”

“I’m always right here with you, when did I ever leave?”

Omelet

“I’m making omelets, what do you want in yours?” Jaehyun asks his sleepy boyfriend as he takes four eggs out of the fridge.

“Mozzarella please.” Taeyong lazily requests.

“And?”

“Only mozzarella.”

Jaehyun chuckles at him, knowing Taeyong isn’t in the mood for anything else but egg and cheese. He still tries, though, knowing Taeyong will most likely scold him for letting himself get away without adding any trace of vegetables, mushrooms, or even tomatoes.

“Do you want me to add onions in your omelet, Yong?”

Taeyong shakes his head, still rested against the kitchen counter, sleepiness still visible in his face.

“Tomatoes? You like tomatoes in your omelet, right?”

Taeyong mumbles ‘no.’

“I bought fresh mushrooms the other day, how about mushrooms?”

“Jaehyun, only mozzarella.” Taeyong begins to whine at Jaehyun nagging at him this early in the morning. “Egg and mozzarella. Nothing else.”

“But love, you’ll scold me again for indulging you. I don’t want another lesson on why I shouldn’t keep spoiling you, especially when it comes to the food you eat.”

He hears Taeyong sigh from the counter before standing up to face Jaehyun directly.

“Look here, mister. It’s a Sunday and yet I’m up at seven-thirty in the morning with my ass still sore from last night because you wanted to eat breakfast together. Now if you keep bugging me with the stuff you’ll put in my omelet I’ll just head back to bed and snuggle with my soft pillows.”

Taeyong doesn’t know it, but it’s Jaehyun secret pleasure seeing Taeyong be really stern and sure about what he wants and making sure he gets whatever he’s asking for.

It’s hot.

“Sorry, sir.” Jaehyun holds a smile back, not wanting Taeyong to think he still finds him cute despite giving him a little lecture in the morning.

“Are you laughing?”

“No.”

“You are—why are you laughing? You find me cute? Huh?” Taeyong pokes Jaehyun’s side as punishment. “Am I cute when I’m mad?”

“You’re always cute—hey, stop it! I’m cooking—Yong!”

Peach

Taeyong finds himself one afternoon helping Jaehyun pack his things as he gets ready to move out of his current apartment, moving somewhere closer to his newly-opened clinic.

They both take a good rest on Jaehyun’s dusty beige couch, Taeyong’s head lazily laying on Jaehyun’s shoulder when he decides to look up at Jaehyun.

He observes Jaehyun’s perfect face; how well-sculpted it is, how smooth it both looks and feels, how his lips are all plump and pink, his eyelashes in the right length, making him look both beautiful and handsome, and his cheeks—Jaehyun’s cheeks, they’re so round and pink, like Jaehyun always wears a faint blush on.

It looks like a peach.

Taeyong gets a rush of want to bite them.

“You have peach cheeks.”

“I have what?” Jaehyun can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Peach cheeks.”

“Again, what—ouch! Did you just bite my cheeks?” He shields his cheeks from Taeyong by placing his hands over both sides, not wanting to receive another merciless bite from his boyfriend who turns out to be a cheek biting monster.

“Noo, Jae, don’t cover your cheeks. They’re so cute.”

“I don’t want you to bite them.”

“But—”

“Babe, nine months into this relationship you’re already biting me somewhere. What about once we reach our first anniversary? What part of me will you bite—Taeyong!”

He moves away from the couch, saving his poor cheeks away from Taeyong who’s somehow really determined to leave a bite mark (Jaehyun is all on board with a bite mark, if that’s what Taeyong wants, by the way, He just finds it rather weird to have a hickey on his face).

Jaehyun gets tired not long after they start playing mini tag around his apartment, probably because of all the packing they’ve done earlier, so he moves back to the couch and lays down, arms already wide open in anticipation for Taeyong to plop down against him.

Taeyong snuggles in Jaehyun’s chest, loving the warmth of his boyfriend’s body, and Jaehyun secures an arm around Taeyong, making sure he doesn’t fall down sideways, his other arm covering his face so Taeyong won’t get to bite his cheeks again.

“You’re mean, peach.” Taeyong murmurs against him. “You won’t let me take a bite.”

“You already did. Twice.”

“More…” Taeyong whines at him, making Jaehyun snicker.

“I’m gonna miss this place.” Taeyong quietly comments.

“Hm? Why? You’re always welcome at my new place, love.”

“Yeah but this is nearer to my place. Whenever I want to come over at night I can just walk for six blocks and I’m here already.” Taeyong cuddles closer to Jaehyun, taking in the other’s scent as if he’s going to see him less from now on. “I always miss you, Jaehyunnie.”

Something just clicks in Jaehyun—it’s a bit impulsive, but it’s not like he hasn’t thought about this for months now ever since they started dating.

“How about we move in together? At my new apartment.”

Taeyong cranes his neck up, looking Jaehyun directly in the eyes, making sure he knows what he’s saying.

“Move in? Together? Live together?”

“Yeah.” Jaehyun presses a kiss on Taeyong’s forehead. “I’d like for you to be the first and last thing I see in my every day.”

Taeyong pauses for a while then grins at Jaehyun, answer at the ready.

“Will you allow me to bite your cheeks if I say yes, peach?”

Taeyong feels Jaehyun’s body shake from laughing.

“Are my cheeks really like peaches?”

Taeyong nods, wide smile still plastered on his face.

“Okay then. You can bite my cheeks.”

Question

“It’s a simple question, Taeyong, why can’t you answer me?”

“Because you’re suggesting something!”

“I’m just asking, Taeyong. Did he confess to you? How is that hard to answer?”

Jaehyun’s heard of someone in Taeyong’s workplace making moves on him, but Taeyong has always assured him he has nothing to worry about because they all know he’s in a relationship and that he’s happy with Jaehyun (most of them already know who he is as Jaehyun always picks him up whenever Taeyong and his colleagues go out for a drink sometimes).

Yoon Seongjun has been a definite eyesore to Jaehyun—he’s one of the interior designers in Taeyong’s team and knows Taeyong cherishes him a lot because he’s a great asset. But sometimes, sometimes Jaehyun thinks Yoon Seongjun just purposely forgets Taeyong’s already in a relationship.

Like today, when Jaehyun decided to pick Taeyong up from his building as a surprise, he never expected to see his boyfriend and Yoon Seongjun talking with a heavy atmosphere inside the lobby where he’s waiting for Taeyong.

He watched as Yoon Seongjun takes Taeyong’s hands, looking like he’s pleading Taeyong for something, but Taeyong takes his hands away from his hold and walks away when the bastard decides to just grab Taeyong’s hand and lock him in an embrace.

Jaehyun lost his patience.

He stood up from the chair he’s been silently watching them from, ready to give the idiot who can’t seem to respect both personal space and relationships when Taeyong pushed himself away again from Yoon Seongjun. Taeyong turned around, eyes widening at soon as he saw Jaehyun marching straight towards his colleague.

Taeyong blocked him and wrapped his arms around Jaehyun, calming him down, reassuring him that it’s nothing, that it isn’t worth it, that they should head home because the trouble isn’t worth getting worked up for.

Now, he waits for Taeyong to answer his question, only to be met with silence even minutes later.

“Just tell me, Yong.” Jaehyun pleads, desperate.

“What does it matter, Jaehyun? It doesn’t matter! Whether he confessed or not, whether he has feelings for me or not, whether he makes a move on me or not, it doesn’t matter because I will never respond to him!”

Jaehyun sits down on one of the dining chairs, putting his head on his hands, trying to reason with himself using Taeyong’s words—that it doesn’t really matter. No one else matters in their relationship but them.

He sees Taeyong squat before him, prying his hands away from his face, replacing it with his before asking Jaehyun in a question that made him feel both guilt and pain.

“Don’t you trust me, Jae?”

He lets his tears fall, submitting into Taeyong’s touch, finding comfort in him. It has always been Taeyong who knew how to get into Jaehyun’s thoughts, always Taeyong who knew just what to say so Jaehyun would stop overthinking on his own and let everything out because it’s always better to have someone share your worries with.

“I do, baby. You know that. I just—I’m so terrified.”

“Of?”

“Of you finally realizing you could do so much better than me.”

Jaehyun watches as tears fall from Taeyong’s eyes.

“Oh, my love.” Taeyong climbs on his lap and clings on to Jaehyun like a koala tightly wrapped around a tree. “Jaehyun, there is no one I’d rather be with than you.”

Jaehyun rests himself in Taeyong’s hold, reassured he’s never going to lose him, ever.

“I’ll choose you over and over again, Jaehyun. It’s always you over anyone.”

Rose

Jaehyun quickly scans the wide array of flowers right in front of him, unsure of what to get Taeyong after basically not showing up in flesh for two weeks straight. He’s been really busy with fixing the paperwork for his new and very own clinic and just had recently found time to indulge himself on a little, spontaneous date with Taeyong before he goes back to drowning in patients and exams.

He struggles in choosing the right flower to give Taeyong. He thinks sunflowers are really overrated, the tulips available aren’t that pleasing to the eye, and he can’t give him orchids on a date because even Jaehyun finds that weird. He mulls over the rest of the flowers he doesn’t know the names of and is close to just picking via eenie-meanie-miney-moe when the ahjumma that owns the flower shop waves at Jaehyun, catching his attention.

“What about this?” She holds out a single stalked rose that has a long stem but bloomed beautifully like it was freshly plucked from a nicely tended garden somewhere in the country-side.

“Love, life, and light. That’s what a rose represents. Or so I’ve read.” The nice lady smiles at him, patiently waiting for Jaehyun to make up his mind.

Love, life, and light.

Taeyong is the love and light of my life.

He shakes his head over his own sappiness.

“I’ll take this.” He pays the lady and adds a little tip for making him smile before walking to the restaurant he and Taeyong agreed to meet at.

He thinks about what to say to Taeyong when he gives the rose to him, trying not to sound too mushy or over-the-top that it’s obvious he has missed Taeyong over the past two weeks. He looks at his watch and sees he’s fifteen minutes early; maybe Taeyong hasn’t arrived yet, giving him more time to contemplate whatever he’s going to say to him.

Jaehyun enters the place and is greeted by a gentleman who asks for his name on the reservation list. “For two, am I right, Mr. Jeong? This way, please. Your date had just arrived minutes before you.”

Shit, Taeyong’s here already?

So much for having more time to think about what he’s going to say to Taeyong.

He’s led to their seat just by the corner, Taeyong’s back facing him as he walks towards him.

Don’t say anything stupid, Jaehyun.

He sits at the couch in front of Taeyong, hands a bit shaky, greeting him coolly (or so he thinks). “Hey.”

“Oh, you’re here! I just arrived too.” Jaehyun sees his favorite smile again when Taeyong beams at him with his eyes crinkling up. He feels like he’ll never get used to how beautiful Taeyong is.

Jaehyun shyly holds the single-stalked rose in front of Taeyong and says, “For you.”

“Jaehyun, you shouldn’t have. But thank you, this is beautiful. Thank you. I love it.” Taeyong smells the blooming flower, lips still curved up, pleased with Jaehyun’s little gift.

“Uh—you know, roses symbolize something.” Shut up, Jaehyun. Just shut up.

“Oh? What is it?”

“It’s three things, actually. Love, light, and life. I bought that because it reminded me of you.”

Taeyong giggles on his seat, still holding on to the rose. “So, I’m the love and light of your life?” He teases Jaehyun, who’s obviously really flustered by how things are currently going. His ears are such giveaways.

“I didn’t know you were this sweet, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun feels like all the embarrassment in the world’s piling up in his system, but it doesn’t matter. He’s seen Taeyong’s beautiful smile, it’s worth ounce of shame he’s feeling right now.

Silence

Usually, Jaehyun and Taeyong’s whole apartment is filled with laughter, occasional shouting because of some video game they’re playing, and very rarely little arguments between the two. It’s rather unusual for the place to be in complete silence when both of them are inside.

But it does happen.

They’re both in their heads, focused on their own jobs; Jaehyun studying his new patient, a Scottish Fold Cat named Hera’s condition and medications Jaehyun can give her, and Taeyong designing a new office building for his latest project.

The living room’s a mess; divided into two with each of them getting their own little territory. But in these silent moments, Jaehyun and Taeyong would always, always find a way to show their affection.

Jaehyun sees from his peripheral view that Taeyong’s been rubbing his neck for the seventh time in the past twenty minutes; he knows the other’s more prone to stiff necks, and usually, Jaehyun would give him massages to soothe his pain. But given that Jaehyun’s also busy with his work, he does the next best thing.

He gets up and grabs the menthol ointment and some muscle relief patches from their room and steps back into their work zone, bending down to level with Taeyong sitting down on the floor as he continues to work on his plates. He applies a generous amount of ointment on his fingers before lightly massaging Taeyong’s neck down to his back for a good two minutes and places the relief patches afterward.

Taeyong shows his gratitude with a kiss on Jaehyun’s cheek before the latter stands up to head back to his space.

Hours later, Taeyong decides to give himself a bit of time to rest. He checks his clock and realizes it’s been five hours since their last meal. He looks over at Jaehyun and realizes he’s still focused, and Taeyong knows better than to disturb him from his research. But he knows Jaehyun’s famished—given that his boyfriend eats almost every two hours, snacking on some nuts and fruits every now and then.

So Taeyong walks to the kitchen and thinks of something to make that’s neither messy nor wet—nothing that would be of hazard to Jaehyun’s books and binders. He remembers he has leftover spam inside the fridge and some rice he can reheat, so Taeyong takes three pieces of egg and seaweed wrap from the pantry to make some kimbap for Jaehyun.

He finishes chopping his kimbap into bite-sized pieces and fills Jaehyun’s tumbler with lemon juice he’s made too before walking to Jaehyun’s side and sitting down cross-legged before picking up a piece to feed Jaehyun.

It’s automatic, how Jaehyun opens his mouth wide enough so there’s no risk of the food falling off accidentally and sips on his metal straw to enjoy the freshly squeezed beverage offered to him while he continues to work on his research. Taeyong stays right by him until he finishes everything, occasionally looking over Jaehyun’s work and reading some of his findings.

He stands up and takes the plate and tumbler to place it in the sink, only for Jaehyun to look up at him, lips pouting for a kiss. Taeyong bends down to fulfill his wish, and Jaehyun murmurs an I love you, thank you, baby in between kisses.

It’s nothing much, but they both know these days where silence dominates their whole apartment is one of their guilty pleasures, thinking of how they unfailingly complement each other despite being in different work fields, doing things that are so vastly unlike.

Even in silence, Jaehyun and Taeyong know how to love each other in perfect ways others may never understand.

Tickets

Jaehyun gets an early out today, lucky for him, Yuzu’s mom decided they’ll have his check-up on Monday instead canceling their 4’o clock appointment. So Jaehyun finds himself driving back to his apartment at three in the afternoon, humming to one of the few Taylor Swift songs he knows of because he’s heard Taeyong singing them loudly in their apartment. He looks at the letter envelope on top of his car’s compartment and grins, knowing Taeyong’s up for a big surprise when he comes home.

He’s sure his boyfriend’s sulking on their bed, singing a bit sadly to his ‘Taylor playlist’ because two months ago when the ticketing for Taylor Swift’s latest world tour opened, tickets were sold out in half a second, and Taeyong had missed his chance to see her perform live in Seoul.

Jaehyun knows Taeyong won’t say it out loud but he’s sure Taeyong’s been feeling pretty down these days as the day of the show comes nearer. He’s tried looking for resellers who sold them at a reasonable price but all he’s gotten are opportunists selling them at a million won per ticket, general admission.

If Taeyong finds out Jaehyun bought one from those scalpers, he feels like Taeyong would rip off every strand of his hair from his scalp.

Much to his luck, again, Max, the golden retriever he’s been giving quarterly check-ups on, has a really kind dad who offered to sell Jaehyun his two tickets for tonight’s Taylor Swift show because he and his wife couldn’t go for emergency reasons. Jaehyun purchases them from him without thinking twice, even offering Max a 50% for his next check-up.

Win-win situation.

As soon as he opens the front door, he hears Lover playing through Taeyong’s speakers from their bedroom. Taeyong sings along, half out-of-tune, half in-tune, weirdly enough. Jaehyun goes straight to where his boyfriend is and alas, he finds him sprawled across the bed, idly lying down while singing along to his playlist again.

“Can I go, where you go? Can we always be this close?” Taeyong reaches for Jaehyun when the latter sits at the edge of the bed and rests his head on Jaehyun’s lap, still singing along to the song playing.

“Hey, babe?” Jaehyun decides to tease him first. “I’m going out tonight.”

He feels a shift in Taeyong’s mood, body feeling heavier because of Jaehyun’s sudden plans.

“Where are you going?” He mumbles against Jaehyun’s pants, embracing Jaehyun tighter.

“To a concert.” Jaehyun smiles when he feels Taeyong freeze up in tension.

“I was hoping you’d go with me?” Taeyong looks up, only to find Jaehyun holding two tickets to Taylor Swift’s show tonight.

Jaehyun is tackled to the bed by Taeyong, who peppers his face with kisses almost immediately. “Oh my god, baby, thank you! Thank you so much, thank you. You are the best, I swear. No one can ever compare. I love you, I love you.”

“I know.” Jaehyun watches Taeyong get up from the bed, rummaging through his closet, figuring out what to wear for tonight while he tries to figure out how he’s going to familiarize himself with all the songs in Taylor Swift’s setlist, wanting to enjoy the concert with Taeyong.

“Oh well, it’s not like I’m going to look at anyone besides Yong anyway.” He murmurs to himself, giving up halfway through Taeyong’s playlist.

Umbrella

Taeyong knows Jaehyun’s still a bit cross with him because of their fight this morning. Honest to any deity out there, Taeyong didn’t really know Jaehyun set his alarm at six in the morning because he had to open his clinic as early as eight, and Jaehyun’s car has been in the repair shop for a week now. So when he turned off his boyfriend’s alarm by mistake, he never expected to be in a full-blown argument with him, ending abruptly with Jaehyun leaving ten minutes before eight without having breakfast and slamming the door behind him.

That’s why when he sees Jaehyun waiting in the lobby of the building he’s working at, he’s honestly surprised.

Even when he’s mad, Jaehyun never fails to take care of him.

He walks over to where Jaehyun’s seated and the latter stands up and hands him his own umbrella, walking ahead of him as if he didn’t know Taeyong.

His fragile heart flinches at that, but he’s the one at fault, so he hurries over and half-runs to catch up with Jaehyun’s wide strides.

They wait for the bus to come in their own umbrellas, and Taeyong knows Jaehyun’s is big enough to cover them both from the rain if Jaehyun puts an arm around him and holds him close, just like always. He feels like crying while riding the bus, with Jaehyun standing four people away from him on purpose. Taeyong feels it’s unfair that Jaehyun doesn’t want to be near him just because they fought this morning. He knows it’s irrational, what he’s feeling, that Jaehyun deserves the right to be mad at him, but he just misses Jaehyun holding him close as they walk under the same umbrella in the rain like they would always do.

So when they arrive at the nearest stop from their apartment and alight from the bus, Taeyong lets Jaehyun walk ahead, knowing he’ll just feel worse if he follows Jaehyun like a sad puppy, trailing close to him but never beside him. He waits at the bus stop patiently for about three minutes, hoping Jaehyun has walked enough distance so Taeyong wouldn’t be able to catch up with him.

He opens his umbrella and starts walking when he sees Jaehyun at the corner of the street where they take a left turn going to their apartment, standing with his umbrella under the rain, waiting for him.

Taeyong can’t help but tear up.

He closes his umbrella and runs to Jaehyun, uncaring of how he immediately gets wet because he ran under the rain towards his boyfriend, his everything, his Jaehyun.

“Are you done emoting under the rain, love?” Jaehyun pats his head in comfort, knowing he’s made Taeyong feel bad.

“You were mean.” Is all Taeyong says, arms never untangling themselves from Jaehyun’s body even as they continue to walk back to their place.

“You looked like you were filming a music video there.”

“Yeah, a song about how my boyfriend was mean to me.”

“Give it the title “Two Umbrellas.””

“I hate you.”

Vacation

“So you’re free? August 23 to 30?” Jaehyun confirms with Taeyong’s schedule before he blocks those eight days on his own calendar. “Want to go on a trip?”

Taeyong’s ears perk at the mention of a trip. “Yes, yes, please! Can we go out of the country?”

“I don’t see why not.” Jaehyun tries to think of places to suggest when Taeyong begins to list countries off in no time.

“Indonesia? We could go to Bali! No, wait, we went on a beach trip the last time. Oh, France? Ah, we’re scheduled there for Christmas already. Besides, I want somewhere rather near. like a 4-6-hour plane trip, max. Somewhere we haven’t visited yet?”

Jaehyun types in all of Taeyong’s conditions and finds the perfect place for them.

“Singapore?”

Taeyong grins, liking Jaehyun’s suggestion.

“Yes! Yes, I’ve always wanted to go to their Universal Studios. Oh, and the Merlions! Plus their cuisine, oh god—we should go to that place Rachel ate in with Nick and his friends when they arrived in Singapore! The food looked so good—”

“Hey, love, breathe. Okay, there we go.” Jaehyun calms an excited Taeyong down to book their tickets before he can start planning their self-made itinerary. They’ve always liked discovering the places they go to on their own; getting lost, trying out new stuff accidentally, even finding hidden gems (aka restaurants) scattered around the place.

“Sorry, I’m just really excited. It’s been months since our last vacation and I really want you to myself for a week—”

“Oh really now. I didn’t know you were selfish when it came to me, mi amor.”

“Did you really just—oh my god you called me mi amor. Oh god, you sound really good speaking in Spanish. Can we go to Spain instead?”

“Love, I already booked the tickets.” Taeyong scoots closer to him, apparently really liking how Jaehyun’s called him mi amor.

“Our next vacation, then? I think I can free up January 19 to 29 next year.”

“Ten days, just to hear me speaking in Spanish.”

“I feel like it’ll be the best trip we’ll have.”

Whiskey

“Hey, Yong!” Johnny greets him with a sly smile, obviously a bit too drunk from the bottles of alcohol on their table. Taeyong gives everyone a wave as both a greeting and a goodbye before shaking a sleeping Jaehyun awake.

“Babe. Jaehyun, hey, time to go home, love.”

“He enjoyed the whiskey a lot,” Yuta tells him, chuckling. “Jeong Jaehyun, whiskey god, he calls himself.”

Taeyong can only hope he’d be able to carry Jaehyun to his car so he’d sober up a bit on the way home.

“Jae? Baby, time to go. Help me out here? You’re a bit heavy.” He pulls Jaehyun up, prompting Jaehyun awake, and is now hyper-aware of his surroundings.

“Oh, who’s this.” He moves away in a second from Taeyong and looks at him from head to toe. “My Taeyong doesn’t like it when someone else touches me, move away!”

Ah, he’s so cute. Taeyong thinks to himself, proud of Jaehyun’s loyalty unwavering even when alcohol’s running through his system.

“Idiot,” Yuta exclaims, pointing at Taeyong. “That’s Taeyong! Are you fucking blind?”

Jaehyun tries to rub his eyes, wanting to see clearly if it really is Taeyong standing beside him. “Taeyongie?”

“It’s me, Jaehyunnie. Let’s go home?”

Jaehyun allows himself to be lifted up from the couch by Taeyong, wrapping his arms around the latter’s shoulder at the second he’s able to stand, nuzzling his head against Taeyong’s neck. He forgets to say goodbye to his friends, now too comfortable in Taeyong’s embrace as they both struggle to make their way to Taeyong’s car parked outside.

Taeyong settles him on the front seat and puts on Jaehyun’s seatbelt before closing the passenger door, running around his car to the driver’s seat. He sets the heater so Jaehyun wouldn’t feel cold and begins to drive away, reminding himself to stop by a convenience store to buy some hangover drinks for Jaehyun.

“Mm, babe.” Jaehyun half-mumbles in his seat, eyes still closed. “Yongie.”

“Yes, Jae?”

“I know I’ve had too much whiskey tonight, can’t even stand up right but I love you.”

Taeyong takes Jaehyun’s left hand and holds it close to his lips, planting a kiss on Jaehyun’s fingers. “I love you too, Jae. Did you have fun tonight?”

“Mm, t’was fun. Wish you were there, though. Always more fun with Yongie.”

Taeyong smiles, patting Jaehyun’s lap in agreement. “I’ll come with you next time.”

“Good. Love you, babe.”

Xerox

Jaehyun hears Taeyong groan in frustration, waking him from his sleep. He looks over to the worktable in their room and sees Taeyong still dealing with the presentation he has tomorrow. He stands up from the bed and lazily walks behind Taeyong, hugging him from behind and giving his cheek a kiss as an encouragement.

“Hey, love, it’s one in the morning. You need to sleep.”

Taeyong holds Jaehyun’s hands that are hanging by his shoulders, resting his temple on Jaehyun’s arm. “I’m sorry for waking you up. I’m just so frustrated and tired. I asked the intern yesterday to make 10 copies of these reports and turns out they forgot and I’m really panicking right now.”

It doesn’t take Jaehyun a minute to give Taeyong a game plan to calm him down, making sure he’s able to solve all of Taeyong’s current dilemmas.

“Okay, relax, babe. Okay, here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna finish your script first, then get a bit of rest, then I’ll drive you early tomorrow to have those xeroxed, okay?”

“Okay, okay alright.” Taeyong breathes in heavily, trying to relax his mind from stress.

“I’m going to the bathroom and once I come out, we’re going to bed, alright?”

Taeyong nods in agreement, Jaehyun kissing the top of his head before letting go of Taeyong, heading to the bathroom.

Jaehyun plans to slip out a bit later when Taeyong’s fast asleep, taking his reports to his clinic where he has a Xerox machine he can use to make copies of what Taeyong needs for the presentation he’s been working on for weeks, hoping it would make him feel a bit more relieved when he sees he doesn’t need to worry about rushing through the morning traffic to make copies while making sure he’s not late for his nine a.m. call time.

Jaehyun’s plans go smoothly when he finds Taeyong deep in sleep when he gets out of the bathroom. He takes Taeyong’s papers with him and heads outside, carefully making sure not to make any noise that could wake Taeyong up.

He gets back at around two fifteen, sighing in relief when he sees Taeyong’s still asleep when he enters their bedroom. Jaehyun carefully places all of the copies he’s made, everything stapled and organized already before climbing to bed, snuggling Taeyong to sleep.

When Taeyong wakes up, he finds a stack of papers neatly placed on his laptop—all ten copies of the twenty-page report he’s been working on nonstop.

He looks over to a sleeping Jaehyun, mouth half-open, still deep in his sleep. Taeyong writes a note on one of his yellow adhesive pads and sticks it on Jaehyun’s forehead, kissing Jaehyun’s cheek before he does his morning routine.

Thank you, you’re the best. I love you, Jaehyun.

Dinner tonight? My treat. I’ll pick you up from the clinic.

-T

Yes

“Yes.” Taeyong blurts out one evening while they enjoy their night, Jaehyun watching a series on the television and Taeyong reading a book beside him.

“Yes?” Jaehyun asks, confused.

“My answer’s yes.”

Jaehyun chuckles, attention now fully on Taeyong. “Yes to what, pumpkin?”

“Your question from last year?”

“I don’t follow, babe. I asked you a lot of questions last year.”

Taeyong pouts, a little frustrated Jaehyun doesn’t remember.

“You asked me a year ago right? If I was ready to marry you. I told you to ask me again in a year.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widen, freezing at Taeyong’s words. “Y-you’re…are you serious?”

“Yeah! We’re engaged.”

“Babe, I asked you to marry me while my dick was up your ass. I didn’t think you’d take it seriously.”

Taeyong opens the drawer from the table beside the couch and takes a small, velvet box out, handing it to Jaehyun who’s rather really blown away by everything that’s happening right now. “Here, our rings.”

“Taeyong. What the hell.”

“What? You asked me, I answered, we have rings! We’re engaged now.”

“You—I didn’t even get to plan a big surprise for you.” Jaehyun blurts out, still in disbelief.

“What? You don’t want to marry me? I can take these back—”

“No!” Jaehyun takes the rings out, wears one ring on himself, and puts the other on Taeyong himself. “There, we’re engaged.”

Taeyong laughs at the way Jaehyun just panicked, thinking if he really was scared shit for a second that Taeyong would take his yes back.

“Are we really engaged? Is this real?” Jaehyun asks, making sure none of this is only happening in his imagination.

“Yes, my sunshine. I am now engaged to you as you are to me.”

“Just like this?”

“I think this is the best proposal that best describes us, yeah?”

Jaehyun slowly nods, as if everything’s just finally clicking in his head.

“We’re getting married.”

Zero

“Jae, how many times have you regretted, you know, us? Me?” Taeyong asks in bed, all naked and pressed against Jaehyun’s bare body.

“That’s a trick question.” Jaehyun holds back a laugh, trying to see if Taeyong’s being serious.

“I’m serious, I won’t get mad.”

Jaehyun pauses for a moment before answering, “Well, there is a number for it.”

Taeyong knows he brought this upon himself but he feels a tug in his heart because of Jaehyun’s answer. He wants to stop this conversation, wanting to sleep it off but his curiosity gets ahead of him, so he asks, “What is it?”

Jaehyun kisses his forehead and answers in a heartbeat.

“Zero.”

You really doubted Jaehyun for a second, huh? Taeyong scolds himself internally. How’d you get so lucky with Jaehyun?

He doesn’t realize he’s saying his last thought out loud. Taeyong gets embarrassed and pulls the cover over his face before he can even see Jaehyun’s reaction. He half-expects Jaehyun to remove the blanket covering his face, pulling him closer so he wouldn’t feel flustered anymore when Jaehyun shares what’s on his mind instead.

“I also ask myself that every day, Taeyong. How did I get so lucky that I ended up meeting you?”

Taeyong scoots closer as if it were any more possible but Jaehyun welcomes him anyway.

“Why do we always wonder how we got lucky enough to end up together when we were literally made for each other, Jae?”

“Huh, I like that,” Jaehyun whispers against Taeyong’s temple, lips still glued to Taeyong’s skin.

“No regrets?”

“Not a single ounce.”